ELECTIONS: Veteran senator Farley up against newcomer Thorne for 49th District

Voters in the 49th Senate District, one of the largest geographical State Senate districts, will choose between an incumbent who will have the most seniority in the Senate if elected and an enthusiastic newcomer making her first run at public office.

The newly redrawn 49th Senate District includes Fulton and Hamilton counties and parts of Schenectady, Herkimer and Saratoga counties. In Saratoga County, the district includes the towns of Day, Hadley, Edinburgh, Corinth, Providence, Galway, Milton, Charlton, Malta, Ballston, Clifton Park and the western part of Saratoga Springs.

Hugh T. Farley, 80, was first elected to the State Legislature in 1976 and has been re-elected every two years since. If he wins Tuesday, it will mark his 16th term in office.

Madelyn Thorne, 58, is hoping to unseat Farley by bringing her private-sector experience and "a fresh perspective" to the district and issues.

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Farley is running on his accomplishments. He pointed to the restoration of VLT money to Saratoga Springs, saying, "I was totally responsible for that," through his chairmanship of a conference committee. "I saw that as my major priority."

Crediting the governor, he said the Legislature has risen out of dysfunction to get things done. "A lot of things got accomplished that I never thought would get accomplished," Farley said.

Thorne is running on a campaign of change.

"I'm a middle-aged woman with the needs of the middle class in mind going to work every day, and that's who we need in government," Thorne said.

She described herself as a "liberal Democrat" and said Farley's "time came and went."

Thorne is currently the director of pastoral care at the Glenville Nursing Home and said her hands-on experience will give her insight on how to tackle the Medicaid issues.

"We keep trying to fix the wheel when it's the axle that's broken," she said. "Reimbursement rates need to be more reasonable."

Those are the rates that Medicaid providers, such as nursing homes, hospitals and ambulances receive The increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates, she said, could come from increasing taxes on the wealthy.

"We need to roll back the tax cuts they got," Thorne said. "Let's get a more equitable rate -- have it more evenly distributed."

Farley also said Medicaid is a priority. "It's a huge problem. We spend more money than Texas and Florida combined, and they have more people."

He said it needs to be reformed, but not by politicians. "We need a non-partisan, bipartisan commission to bring us in line with the rest of the nation," he said, calling the program "extravagant," and saying some of the services need to be cut back.

Farley also said he has co-sponsored legislation to gradually transfer the cost of Medicaid from counties back to the state.

On the economy, Farley stressed lowering taxes and getting rid of red tape for businesses, while Thorne is focused on eliminating unfunded mandates and on job training and education.

Farley said he would support hydraulic fracturing if the Department of Environmental Conservation says it is safe. "I'll go with the science," he said, but added water is "the most valuable asset in New York state" and that if hydraulic fracturing would pollute it, "That's a no-no."

Thorne said she is open to evaluating the issue, but at this point opposes hydro-fracking.

"The risks are great (and) the environmental impact both above and below the ground is significant," she said, "and we have alternative, clean energy options which should be advanced."

Thorne said the funding equation for schools put rural schools in a situation where they were "set up for failure" and said the state needs "fresh eyes on the situation."

Farley said rural schools -- particularly high schools -- cannot survive with so few students without cutting classes like music, languages and art.

"There needs to be regionalization and consolidation in those school districts," Farley said.

Farley said he would support a minimum wage increase, but only if it had provisions for small business.

"It's got to be tied to a tax abatement and tax incentives for small business," he said.

Thorne said she "absolutely" supports an increase in minimum wage and that "$7.25 an hour is absurd." She said the minimum wage should be tied to the Consumer Price Index, a rubric that is usually the basis for determining cost-of-living increases.

"I don't think we should keep minimum wage as a political football," she said, pointing out that it has been "held hostage" at times, dependent on legislative pay increases.